FY 1996 Science and Technology Budget - Press Briefing(6) The FY96 budget strengthens the federal investment in health, and in agriculture
and food research that will lead to new ways to prevent and treat disease and that will
enhance agricultural productivity and sustainability, food safety, and environmental quality.

Funding at the National Institutes of Health increases 4% ($468 million), with
AIDS research increasing by 5.4% (or $72 million) and non-AIDS research by 4% (or $395
million). Highest priority is given to investigator-initiated research grants related to
targeted areas such as the health of women and minorities, disease prevention, and DNA
sequencing technologies.

(7) With a NASA budget of $14.2 billion, the Clinton Administration
maintains its commitment to America's leadership in space exploration, science, and
technology. We have entered a new era in space, one with new research priorities and
new emphasis on efficiency and working in partnership with private industry.

We continue an annual $2.1 billion commitment to the International Space Station as the
key to the future of human exploration in space. As I speak, the crew of the space shuttle
Discovery is circling at close range with the Russian space station Mir at close range as a
first critical step in the space station program.

This year's budget makes an initial $160 million investment in a technology program that
will lay the groundwork for a new generation of launch vehicles that will be more
efficient and cheaper than the space shuttle. This launch vehicle program will be
conducted in partnership with industry.

Also this year, we have begun funding for the New Millenium program at $495 million.
This program will develop radical new spacecraft designs that will greatly reduce costs and
provide an affordable way to explore the universe and the earth's environment.

This year's budget also contains a significant $1.3 billion commitment to NASA's
Mission to Planet Earth Program, which will be a major component of the overall Global
Change Research Program. The Clinton Administration remains committed to America's continued
leadership in space exploration and research. We have entered a new era in space, one with
new research priorities and a new emphasis on efficiency and working in partnership with private
industry.